Before Saturday night's Kansas City premiere of Kevin Smith's Westboro Baptist Church-inspired Red State, Shirley Phelps-Roper told me that her family had an exit strategy. They weren't sticking around if the film became too raunchy. I told her that it's a Kevin Smith flick; it's bound to get raunchy. So about 15 minutes after the lights went down and the film started, the members of the Westboro Baptist Church streamed out of the theater.
After the film, Smith recalled the exit. He said Megan Phelps-Roper, who was supposed to review the film, tapped him on the shoulder, thanked him for inviting them, but said the film was far too "filthy" for their tastes. But they did leave Smith a present: An autographed picket sign that read "Red State Fags." Smith cherished the gift.
I can't say I blame the Phelps family for hitting the highway back to Topeka. I was sitting in the balcony near the 15 or 20 of them who showed up for the screening/Q&A. With the escalating violence against their family (including a military vet charged with stalking), sitting in a dark theater with a bunch of rowdy and drunk folks, I couldn't help but think of Inglourious Basterds. Those thoughts only escalated as shit started going down in the film.
I'll try not to play spoiler, but when members of Smith's Cooper cult -- the homicidal Phelps-inspired fundamentalists -- were killed, the audience roared with cheers and applause. Yes, cheered, and yes, it was fucking disturbing. The bloodthirsty audience was so clearly fantasizing about the murder of the Phelps family that it all felt unstable.
I admittedly skipped out midway through the Q&A. A succession of fanboys asking Smith for help financing their films and plays will do that to you. But that proved to be a mistake. Local air-guitar legend and Scene Stealers film critic Eric "Mean" Melin stuck it out, and he reports that two ex-Westboro members -- Libby Phelps and Josh Phelps-Roper -- joined Smith onstage to discuss their experiences inside the church.
Melin also dissects the film in his review, which you should read by clicking here. He notes the opportunities for going deeper in the flick that are lost. I'd wanted to see the flick for a long time. It definitely wasn't like anything Smith has ever made, and I'm glad I saw it. But the crowd's reaction was a major turnoff. Maybe it was just the fact that the Phelps family was in the house, but the blood lust was far more disturbing than anything onscreen.
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This Westboro Baptist Church says they hate the Gay-Community.
But, they also hate African Americans, Dr. & Mrs. King, Canada, Sweden, the
Fire Department of N.Y., victims of 911, other Christian churches, the pope,
Judaism, America, our American troops and the list goes on and on. Many of the
groups they despise are specifically named on their hate propaganda, picket
signs and their many websites. They not only hate, but wish death on all whom
they abhor.
This so-called “church” spreads its hate through picketing in
our streets, provoking attacks, with abusive language and flag desecration,
attempting to create a confrontation. This is not about protesting, this is
about a life of hate. They are in it for the money and the press. They are not a "church." They go
after any thing that can get them in the news. This group will protest anything
to get its face on TV or in the news. This group is lost in the darkness of
hate, and will put there children in danger to shield themselves.
These people protest at the funerals of our troops. Do we have a
real need to protest at any funeral? Is that a real freedom?
The city of Topeka, the state of Kansas and the U.S. at large,
its citizens and their churches, schools and events are all held hostage by
this "hate group."-always at the tax payer's expense.
Make sure to check out the podcast, Plus One, ep. 15. The full audio of the interview is included!
Well, Missy,
You have more in common with the Phelps inbreds than you think.
They were down there in Wichita alongside your friends, the tax evaders from Operation Rescue West and Operation Save America, celebrating Tiller's assassination at his memorial service.
Well, personally, I have been amazed, wondering, waiting for someone to get fed up with the ugly and hateful Phelps klan and pull a Dr. Mengele Tiller final come-uppance style execution. I'm not advocating it but I feel like its sort of a "pre deja voux" kind of feeling.
Freddie Krueger Phellps countenance reaks of evil and hatred and a sick soul inside and I wonder how many others who see the same thing don't have my aversion to violence holding them back.
But if it did happen, just like with Dr. Tiller, I wouldn't cry crocodile tears and pretend to be all busted up about it.
When you go so far out of your way to make hateful, hurtful statements and scenes at funerals, for example, its a little too much like tempting fate imo.
this is a free country and the westboro baptist church has the freedom of speech and has the right to pickett them military funerals
Justin- A bit late on my reply to this, but I was at the Minneapolis screening and it was filled with much of the same douche-bag documentary filmmakers trying to ask Smith to finance or distribute their movie for them. It was actually starting to piss me off a bit. I suppose much of it comes with others trying to replicate Smith's success, but I would wager that there is a time and a place for such things.
FYI westboro uses the king james bible.That is not the original bible.Nor is baptist the original religion.So keep your head buried and you will fit right in.
Um, so the point of this article was to note that the Phelps clan got up and left the screening... and that is it?!?
Journalism -- you aren't doing it right.
sorry, but all of those isolated islands are filled with homosexuals, people with aids, convicts, anybody who doesn't conform, child molesters, rapists, self aware cyborgs, genetic clones for organ harvesting, oh yeah and brown people.
We were at the demonstration prior to the film. Something important not mentioned - the west side of the street directly in front of the Midland Theater had about 100 people counter protesting the Phelps family. The east side of the street had about 25-40 Phelps members protesting. The Phelps group left about 20 minutes prior to the film starting, they were outshouted, outsang, and out demonstrated. They felt overwhelmed and slunk off of Main Street quietly while the counter-demonstraters were shouting "WE WON, WE WON".
It was interesting to watch history develop before my eyes.
Remember when you were in school and you were told never to write "I think" because it's your paper, so everything you write is something that you think? And anything that's a fact should have a citation? Just a thought. Or whatever, he should be fired for having an opinion in an opinion piece.
Or it could read like this:
I told her that it's a Kevin Smith flick; it's bound to get raunchy (according to my experience with past Kevin Smith films). So about 15 minutes (as I remember, I didn't time it) after the lights went down and the film started (these things may not have happened as simultaneously as I implied), the members (those present, not the entire church) of the Westboro Baptist Church streamed out of the theater (I mean they left quickly, not that they turned into water).
People are psycho dude just ignore them...And wish they get purged whenever America goes to hell and people start dropping.
I wouldn't feel disturbed at all. When people openly protest the funerals of soldiers who went to war and died for their rights(Whether you agree with the war or not)is just plain disgusting and an insult to humanity. The westboro church should be put on a boat and sent to an isolated island where they can rant about their hate as much as they please.
I think he is telling the truth sadly. Some people cant see past there own veil of ignorance.
"As you suspected, I possess no such qualifications," would have been a perfectly sufficient answer for a blogger with a BA in Journalism.
I think for Kevin smith to charge 80 dallors for that movie and not give every one a copy was surly is that the movie is a lie about the westboro baptist church, I think that the westboro baptist church is telling the truth about the bible that the true word of god,
Yeah, I'm really sorry I missed it. I've always wanted to hear what Josh had to say.
What are Fred Phelps and the WBC afraid of? Rainbows? Unicorns? A flaming pink queer apocalypse? I attempted to address this with a portrait of the good reverend on my artist’s blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot... Drop in and let me know what you think!
Definitely a shame that you left before Libby Phelps and Josh Phelps-Roper stepped up to the mic. It was an interesting evening but that Q&A was by far the highlight.
I have plenty of shortcomings (hey yo). And you know what, I should have mentioned the possibility of seeing evil getting its comeuppance. But with the Phelps in the audience, there was a feeling of unease added to it all.
P.S. My ability to be all knowing of everything ... clearly. I was there in the moment. Also, you can look me up on LinkedIn for my qualifications.
Just your opinion? You said, "The bloodthirsty audience was so clearly fantasizing about the murder of the Phelps family that it all felt unstable." You phrased that as a statement of fact, as evidenced by choosing the words, "was so clearly." If this was deliberate, such intellectual dishonesty should land you on the unemployment line. If it wasn't, your shortcomings as a writer should land you on the unemployment line. You ascribed real-world sentiments to a group of people based on their reactions to fiction, people with whom you haven't exchanged two words. What qualifications - education, training, professional experience, etc. - do you possess that would make your attempt to psychoanalyze a theater full of perfect strangers anything less than patently absurd?
Agreed. We all love a good comeuppance. Maybe it was the setting for me. In this one time and place with the Phelps present (or, for however long they actually stayed), it struck me as people fantasizing about the Phelps. Just my opinion.
There was one scene in particular that shocked me: When the DC agents mentioned they could put away people without trials post-9/11, and everyone went "yeah!" I don't think Smith meant them to cheer there, they were just reacting to the cult getting what was coming to them.
I think the thing is that people often cheer the downfall of evil. The group in the movie were definitely psychotically evil. The Phelps are sick minded people who are treading the thin line to evil. Seeing what they do to their kids is creepy.
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